1. Field of the Invention
This invention is a bag and package making method and apparatus and, more particularly, is directed to a novel method of forming a closure across a sleeve formed by expanding a tubular plastic netting in rope form in a cross-machine direction; by rucking such expanded netting; and, by expanding a portion of such rucked netting in the machine direction.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Bag and package making apparatus and methods of this general type are old.
It is known, for example, as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 3,726,060 to McMillan, to package a product in a flexible tubular casing, which may be in the form of a plastic material, a tubular knitted material or other suitable flexible material and in which the casing is gathered or shirred onto a sleeve-like member and moved from the sleeve-like member along the outer surface of a support member and then inwardly of an opening therein whereby a continuous supply of tubular casing is provided for packaging items, such as hams, fed sequentially through such opening. A new supply of casing is required when the casing on the sleeve-like member runs out. Clips are provided for closing the casing adjacent both ends of the product to form the package.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,719,022 to Cherio et al. teaches a device for filling food stuff into netted containers which comprises a filler tube centrally positioned on a supporting frame, the tube being telescopically mounted and having thereabout a continuously fed and gathered netting which, as the ram of the tube extrudes the food stuff therefrom, disengages itself from the tube and becomes uniformly filled with the extrudate food stuff.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,380,220 to Jennings et al. discloses a tree packaging method including the steps of placing a supply of tubular material upon the exterior surface of a tubular element and intermittently drawing such material from this surface and into such tubular element for the purpose of enclosing a tree being passed therethrough. The tree movement draws the tubular material from the tubular element so that it will automatically encircle or enclose the tree. When the supply of tubular material on the tubular element is exhausted, the empty tubular element is moved to a loading station where a new supply of material is placed on it.
Other patents of interest are U.S. Pat. No. 231,270 to Case which shows a machine for rolling tubular fabrics, U.S. Pat. No. 3,257,915 to Cartier et al. which shows a bag forming machine, and U.S. Department of Agriculture bulletin ARS-S-18 of July 1973, entitled "Automatic Produce-Bagging Machine that uses Factory-Roll Polyethylene Net Tubing", which shows a machine that makes a package from tubular netting, such package having gathered and stabled top and bottom closures.
In the apparatus and methods described in these patents and bulletin, as in other apparatus and methods of the known prior art, the bag and package making operations are either not continuous, require additional steps or parts, or do not provide the total, practical, utility found in the bag and package making methods of this invention, as will become apparent.